one of my favorite things

When we were kids, my mom would watch West Side Story on Saturday mornings while she cleaned the house.  I hated musicals.  They seemed silly to me.  Why would 2 gangs who hated each other dance and sing while they fought?

When I was 16, I saw Rent & Ragtime on Broadway in New York over spring break.  I was interested.  My senior Engligh class was film as literature.  During the musical genre unit in class, we watched Singing in the Rain.  I was hooked.  Mostly because I had a big crush on Gene Kelly.  Singing in the Rain was my gateway musical.

Since high school, I have seen a number of musicals in Seattle @ the 5th Avenue & Paramount Theatres.   I also have had the privilege of seeing 3 shows on Broadway in New York.  Over the years, I have realized that I love live theatre.  The incredible talent of those singing powerfully and dancing gracefully across the stage-and often @ the same time no less-is mesmerizing.  The powerful singing in Wicked, the incredible costumes in the Lion King and the brilliant dancing in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers have been some highlights for me.  I love going to the theatre!

This Christmas my gift to my mom, sisters and niece was tickets to Rodgers & Hamerstein's Cinderella @ the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.  We saw the Christmas Eve performance from the 5th row.  I am way more of a quality time/experience vs. gifts/things sort of a girl.  I was more excited to share this experience with the women in my family more than I ever have been to give them any material item wrapped under the tree.  I was particularly excited to share one of my favorite things with my soon-to-be-5-year-old niece.

Cinderella was performed brilliantly and my niece was enthralled.  On our way to the 5th, she was a little unclear about what we were doing and thought we were going to a movie.  Once the show started, she was wide-eyed and interested.  At the intermission I asked Samantha what she thought so far and her response included 2 thumbs up (she's into the thumbs up/thumbs down thing right now) and the word "excellente" (we're always teaching her Spanish).  When we were headed back to the car, Samantha asked me what the next "movie" we could see at the theatre was.  She wants to go back!  I hope there is a kid friendly show next season @ the 5th.

Cinderella was lovely and satisfied my theatre fix, but the looks on my niece's face that I stole during the show were worth every penny spent on those tickets.  My mom, sisters and I had a lot of fun together and particularly watching Samantha enjoy the show.

Christmastime is here

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Christmas together as a staff.  We all went to camp (Egmont staff included) and had a lovely prime rib dinner together as a staff and with our Kiwi brothers.

We built a fire in the fireplace of the dining hall.  Only the second fire ever in there because the doors on the other side of the fireplace send wind through the fireplace every time the door is opened.  #designflaw

Sharon and Stacie put up a tree and set the tables beautifully for our celebration feast.

We then went as a staff to the club room for some fun...

Wii bowled

 

Wii even hunted.  Get it Sharon!

For the last few weeks I've been in Bellingham spending time with friends, going to Christmas parties, enjoying singing Christmas songs @ church and even decorating my little house for Christmas.

Tonight I am home @ my parents house in Olympia- the house I grew up in from 5th grade all the way through high school.  I am headed to Portland tomorrow for a few days and decided to come down today to break up the trip.  My parents are in Oregon for a few days with friends, so for the first time in about 15 years, I find myself in my parents house home alone...I let myself in, took my stuff to my room and went to the living room to turn on the Christmas tree lights and the reality that Christmas is just 6 days away set in.  To be here, in my childhood home, for Christmas makes this frantic season feel more real.

As I moved through the living room, I saw that my mom has hung all of our stockings (they have increased in number the last few years) over the fireplace.  It made me remember a funny thing that has happened over the last few years regarding the stockings my mom made for us 3 girls when we were little.  Behold the stockings....

My mom sewed these for us way back when and to distinguish them from each other, she sewed a little notion at the top of each.  A bell for one, a candy cane for another and the third one has a tree on it.  My whole life, I have been the candy cane.  Lauren was the bell and Jessie was the tree.  About 4 years ago, my mom had a lapse in memory and filled the candy cane stocking with things for Jessie.  That Christmas morning I went to the candy cane stocking and proceeded to open it and wondered at its contents, as some of them were things I am allergic to (you see, I'm gluten and dairy free).  My mom said that was Jessie's stocking and that mine was the bell.  Suddenly, I was the only one who remembered the correct owners of each specific stocking.  This started a heated and quite comical debate about whose stocking was whose.  The debate still continues.

I wonder which stocking I'll get this year.  I imagine the debate will continue, we'll laugh and I'll demand that I'm right.  The truth is, it doesn't really matter whose stocking is whose as long as we're together.  I think this stocking thing is a new Christmas tradition in la Casa Reynolds.

Christmastime IS here, happiness and cheer.  Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year.

To you and yours, Merry Christmas!

time to laugh

Ok, if you haven't seen this video floating around, it's pretty funny.  What I think I love most the 2 guys' reactions to the item on their list when they first read it.  This seems like a Young Life sort of thing to do....

This one is a little bit cuter.  It was tweeted by musician Dave Barnes as one of the cutest things he's ever seen...

Merry Christmas and you're welcome :)

oh Canada...

During the summer,  we sing O Canada @ Malibu twice a week.  Day 3 lunch is chili lunch.  It's also become hockey lunch.  The WC servers wear our Hockey Night @ Malibu (see below) t-shirts, there are hockey center pieces on the tables and the Malibu staff and interns sing O Canada to open the meal.

On night 4, after the cabin horn, the property staff and interns play silent floor hockey with the assignment team and summer staff in the gym.  The first weeks of the session we play inter-mixed and the final week of the session we play "Property vs. the World".  The Property is always victorious.  Before the game begins, we don our Hockey Night @ Malibu shirts-red and blue-to distinguish teams and then gather around the YL logo in the center of the gym to sing O Canada.  Then we play silent floor hockey (so as not to wake up the campers) until usually 1am.  It makes for a hard Day 5 for me as I usually open the ropes course between 5:30 and 6:00am.  I have a dent in my left shin bone from a hockey blade and I took 2 slap shots from Harold (our property manager and expert hockey player) to the shin.  Both left behind deep, dark bruises.  We take hockey seriously @ Malibu.

Our 2nd session program team did Day 3 hockey lunch and also deemed Day 4 lunch baseball lunch.  The program team suited up in baseball uniforms (from my old high school nonetheless!) and had the dining hall stand to sing the Star Spangled Banner.  The first week of the session, on Day 4 lunch, I stood with everyone else and realized that it had been so long since I had sung our national anthem, that I was pretty rusty.  Never in my life would I have guessed that I would a). know another country's national anthem by heart or b). struggle to remember my own national anthem.

I am a US citizen.  I am a part time Canadian.

O Canada, our home and native land
True patriot love in all thy sons command
With glowing hearts we see thee rise
The true north strong and free
From far and wide O Canada
We stand on guard for thee
God keep our land glorious and free
O Canada we stand on guard for thee
O Canada we stand on guard for thee

If I were a true Canadian, I think I would have to know this in both English and French.  I think I would also have to swear an oath to the Queen.  I'm ok being a part time Canadian :)